Roadside Altars [Open-ish]

[Okibi]

(Don't join if you arent going to attempt to be an active poster please~ Thank you!)

People stared as the duo made their way leisurely down one of the many streets in the sietch. They'd grown accustomed to the looks, but were grateful that only a few people would run in fear now. All the blame was to be placed on the bigger half of the pair, upon which the human half rode. He was immense, the size of a horse, with fur as dark as night. His large, muscled body was covered in scars too many to count. The stretch of his canine snout holstered huge, dagger sized teeth and his eyes glowed red.

More or less, he looked like something out of a nightmare.

The girl on his back however, looked completely his opposite, with slightly pale skin, and wild red hair. Her green eyes roved the people around them, studying them and committing what she saw to memory. She wore just a little more clothes today than normal, a plain white t shirt over her underwear, ripped from hem to chest. Slowly, she would learn to tolerate the stuff, even if she didnt want to.

"Humans still stare." The girl muttered, not taking her eyes off the people milling around them. The large canine beneath her shrugged his big shoulders, seemingly unconcerned with the attention. Deep down, the girl knew that all the staring did in fact bother him. Quietly she stroked his scarred neck, and wasnt surprised when the taut muscles slowly relaxed.

"Your human speech is getting better." The canine said quietly to the girl, glancing back over his shoulder. She grinned proudly and nodded her head. "Today me talk this only. Practice."

As the two meandered down the street, the crowds began to lessen and soon they were amongst only a few other passers by. These people walked quickly and tried not to look at them, obviously not wanting to garner their attention. Okibi's narrowed eyes followed the humans that reeked of fear. As if her Keeper would try to harm them! The very thought was ridiculous.

Soon enough, they were the only ones left on the street. Builds sat around them, their windows dark, some of them even broken. Rubbish littered the road here and there, sitting stagnant without any breeze to blow it. For a moment, Okibi wondered just where they had wandered to.

But then her attention was caught by something that sat at the mouth of a dark alley. She leapt from Number Seven's back, not paying any mind when he gently chided her, and made her way to the construct made of metal and stone. She stopped in front of it, and looked it over.

"What is?" She asked aloud, knowing her canine keeper would join her. From over her shoulder, the beast looked at the item in question, and carefully answered her. "It's an alter I think. To a nameless god or spirit perhaps."

Okibi turned and looked at Seven quizzically. "God? Spirit? What is?" Her questions came again. Number Seven grimaced and looked long and hard at the alter made of stone and steel. How was he supposed to explain this to her?

 

[Kagai]

It was a rather eventful day today for Jenosaido Kagai. During his last sermon, he apparently had inspired a few people that showed interest in joining his small, but growing collective. This made him very happy, because even if he was able to just save one soul a day he deemed it a success, but today he had saved two! Soon enough the followers of Lord Kojin and the Golden Dawn would span the globe and all will be bathed in the light of lord Kojin's grace. Kagai was, of course, wearing his usual garb of a black and red stripped dress shirt, crimson button down vest, black slacks and dress shoes. Upon his fingers he wore an assortment of rings and bracelets upon his wrists, and a choker necklace around his neck. He was puffing upon one of his expensive black cigarettes, allowing the smoke the flow out from his nostrils in long, blue-tinted plumes as he thought back upon his deeds for the day.

He had found out that those whom dwelt in the poorer sections of Sunagakure seemed to be more easily converted than others. Perhaps they were willing to believe in anything in hopes of improving their current situation, or perhaps they just saw the light as Kagai preached on about the greatest of Lord Kojin, whatever the case may be, a soul saved was a soul saved. Having escorted his new acolytes back to their homes while filling them in on what they would need to do in the coming days in order to become a true acolyte of the Golden Dawn, Kagai made his way back to the alter he had constructed in the poor section of Sietch Zensunna.

As he turned the corner that lead to his alley, Kagai noticed a very strange duo standing near his altar. One was a rather large canine-looking creature. Not only was he formidable in size, but also in appearance, resembling something of a Hellhound or at least what Kagai pictured a Hellhound to look like. At his side was a young, red-headed child. It seemed the beast and her were communicating, so the animal apparently had knowledge of human speech. Another miracle of Lord Kojin! From what he could hear of the child, her speech was a bit broken up and her clothes looked rather tattered, which made Kagai believe her to be just another resident of the poor section of Sietch Zensunna. He heard her ask what God and Spirits were, and a smile grew upon his face as he approached, making sure his posture wasn't threatening and he had a smile upon his face so as to not startle the child or cause the animal to want to attack him..."Gods and Spirits are supernatural beings, my dear." He would say in a friendly voice to answer the child's question...."A spirit is a soul without a body. It is what remains of a living being after they have died. Some are guides to the living, some are just travelling ghosts that cannot seem to pass on....Others are more mischievous and like to haunt and scare people...But they are normally harmless creatures. Gods, on the other hand, are things that cannot be explained very well....Humans like us are not able to comprehend them...Our minds try their best to make sense of them, but it is futile at best because each of us sees them differently....Except for my God." Kagai would say, trying his best to speak to this child as a child and not an adult..."My God is Fire...The lord of the Flame and the bringer of the Golden Dawn...Lord Kojin." With saying that, Kagai bowed his head slightly in reverence to the name of his lord.

He would take another hit off of his cigarette before he took it out of his mouth and dropped it down onto the dusty ground, quickly stomping out the ashes with his right foot..."Pardon me, where are my manners? My name is Jenosaido Kagai, and this is my little slice of heaven in a mostly damned section of the village. Whom might you be?" He would ask as he bent himself down to one knee so he could be at eye level with the young girl, but making sure to keep his distance so he didn't incur the wrath of her hellhound-ish looking canine.

 

[Okibi]

Number Sevens face continued to twist in an ugly fashion as he tried to figure out how to explain to Okibi the concept of otherworldly beings. It was a difficult thing to do, without any solid evidence or examples to give her. "Gods are... Spirits are..." But he just kept coming up short. Just because he had the knowledge of them, didnt mean he knew quite how to define them.

The monster dog was saved by the appearance of a random stranger, dressed in quite the snazzy get up too. Seven looked him over quickly and deined that he wasnt a threat. The young mans long winded explanation of just what gods and spirits were was... indeed quite long winded. Seven had to wonder if Okibi had followed all of it. When he looked down, at her, he got his answer.

Okibi was looking at the red headed stranger as though he had just flown down with wings made of purple sparkles. All those words... she'd been able to get most of them, but some were just too big for her to understand. She made a narrow eyed face at the guy when he knelt down to... look her in the eye? Was he challenging her? But... his demeanor and speech didnt sound like someone wanting a challenge...

Sometimes she really didnt get humans. Especially this one.

The scent of the smoke stick the man had in his mouth suddenly hit her nose and Okibi scuttled back, covering that part of her face. She looked at him with wide eyed astonishment, and also indignation. "Why do that!?" She pointed to the smooshed cigarette on the ground. "Smell bad!"

Number Seven sighed and looked at the human male apologetically. "Forgive her behavior. She isnt yet fully versed in... polite socialization." He nodded once to the human in greeting. "I am Number Seven, and this is-" He was cut off when the wild haired girl suddenly reached up at covered the tip of his snout. Apparently she wanted to introduce herself.

She put both her hands down, and refrained from covering her nose again when the lingering stench of smoke hit her in the nose again. With a slight grimace, she bobbed her head as well, "Me Okibi. Nice meet you." As an after thought, she added on, "You talk many." She didnt quite get the words right, but the meaning was clear. She thought the human, Kagai, talked quite a bit.

Seven sighed again and shook his head. He was beginning to think that no matter how much training she went through, no matter how many lessons she was given, she would never rid herself of that bluntness of hers...

 

[Kagai]

Apparently she didn't like the smell of his cigarette. He couldn't blame her, they never really had a nice scent to them..."That is a long story, my dear. Let's just I'm stupid for starting such a bad habit." He would say in reply to her question. The canine's words were a lot more clear and he was surprisingly well spoken for a dog. During his travels, Kagai had heard of animals with the ability to speak human language, so the fact he was listening to this dog apologize for the young one didn't surprise him all that much, though it was still quite odd..."No apology is needed. Children are innocent and it is that innocence that makes them speak as blunt as they do." Number Seven was definitely a strange name, even for a dog. Kagai would give a simple bow of his head to Seven, and the same to Okibi as she reached up to quiet the beast so that she could introduce herself.

'You talk many.'? It took him a second to figure out what that mean, but when he did he laughed. Perhaps she was trying to say he talked a lot, and she was definitely right about that part..."Yes, yes I do. I'm sorry." He would say while chuckling still before standing back up to his full height..."So, what brings you two to a place like this? And if you don't mind me asking....How is it that a dog is able to speak in a human tongue better than an actual human? And are you two from around these parts of Sunagakure? I frequent these poorer sections quite a bit and cannot say that I've seen you around. I believe I would of remembered if I had...You do stand out a bit." He would say, hoping he wasn't being rude with his words

 

[Okibi]

The human suddenly started gushing questions in the pairs direction, and while Okibi understood most of it, Number Seven took it upon himself to answer. As he did so, Okibi busied herself with circling Kagai, sniffing his person and touching his clothes (whether he like it or not). This was fast becoming habit for her upon meeting someone new.

Seven watched her do her circling, making sure she didnt do anything too forward. "We were actually just taking a walk through the area and wound up here. Okibi noticed the altar and wanted to stop and look at it. As you can guess, she has not had any encounters with the... spiritual." Seven continued to watch as Okibi stopped beside Kagai, and grabbed up one of his hands so she could look at the rings on his fingers. His eyes rose to the humans face to gauge his reaction to his humans forwardness. "As for my ability to speak like you, that came about as a result of... some ordeals I went through as a pup. I'll say they werent very pleasant and leave it at that."

When suddenly Okibi looked like she was about to try and bite one of Kagai's rings, Seven uttered a terse bark, gently reprimanding her. The girl closed her poised mouth and let go of Kagai's hand. What? The things on his fingers looked shiny and tasty. She just wanted to see if they actually were... The dog narrowed his eyes and shook his head at her.

"We're not actually from around here, despite the way we look." He continued looking back at Kagai as Okibi returned to circling him. He was about to add more when Okibi beat him to the punch. "We sleep with Sogay." She muttered, pinching at the lapels of his vest. Seven sighed and shook his head. It was one thing to call the Steward Kazekage that when they were alone with him, but in front of one of the people he oversaw... and to say it in such a manner. It couldnt lead someone to thinking the wrong thing!

"She means Takahashi Sousuke, the Steward Kazekage. He took us in in our time of need and has taken up teaching Okibi here the ways of humans. We stay with him and his kin." Seven did some backtracking in the conversation, and gave Kagai a better once over. He certainly wasnt dressed like someone who would frequent the poorer parts of the village. At least, to his knowledge of the human wardrobe. "But why would you frequent these parts Jenosaido Kagai? You do not look the part of a less than privileged human."

 

[Kagai]

He paid no mind to the girl poking and grabbing at his clothes. From the sounds of it she was apparently a savage, a type raised in the wilds and wasn't use to seeing or hearing the things Kagai spoke of. It was then he released a bark, which caused Kagai to turn his head towards the girl once more, noticing that she was apparently getting ready to bite down upon his ringed fingers. He smirked a bit as she then let go of his hand and proceeded to circle around him again.

Seven, as he liked to call himself, went on to explain how the Steward Kazekage had apparently taken them in and is taking it upon himself to teach young Okibi the ways of the humans. Kagai cannot say he had ever met the Kazekage, but he never really sought to either. He gave a nod towards the canine as he spoke to let him know he was listening, and it was then that he brought up the question as to why Kagai frequented the poorer parts of the village, not really looking the part of a poor person himself..."I won't pretend that I haven't been blessed. That is the main reason I do frequent these parts. Lord Kojin has provided me with much, and I have been given the task to spread his word to the populous of the world. The poor and destitute are the ones in need of the most help, so I come here to reassure them that their suffering is not in vain, and that Lord Kojin will provide for them if they choose to believe." He would say with a confident nod...."This altar is not only used as a place for the faithful to worship, but it is also where I go to hand out food, clothing and other basic needs to the unfortunate. Sadly, I can only provide so much and not everyone gets what they need..." A remorseful sigh would escape his lips as he thought about those that would go without..."But I do what I can with what I have."

 

[Okibi]

"You and your Kojin sound very kind hearted." Number Seven said to Kagai. He shifted his weight a took a heavy seat on the ground. Even sitting as he was, the dog was quite tall. "I will admit I have never put my faith in a god or spirit, but then again, I am just a dog." He said with a doggish snicker. The 'cheer' suddenly vanished from his face when he saw what Okibi was trying to do now. "Okibi, what are you doing?"

The girl didnt look up from what she was doing as she uttered, "Want see if anything in." As she said that, she was trying to get one of her hands into Kagai's pockets.

Number Seven shook his head and sighed. It felt like he was doing that a lot lately... Hopefully with time, and more socializing on Okibi's part, he wouldnt have to anymore.

Suddenly, a new scent joined them and both Seven and Okibi snapped their heads in the direction of the person. A scraggly looking man emerged from the dark alley, and stopped a few feet away from them. His clothes were ratty and full of holes, and his hair looked just as dirty and unkempt. Okibi and Seven both wrinkled their noses when they got a better waft of the bums stench. The human grimaced, showing them two rows of yellowed teeth, a few of them missing.

"God?" He slurred, obviously drunk as well as horribly filthy. How someone as poor looking as him could have gotten himself drunk was anybody's guess. The hobo continued. "What has any god ever done for me!? If there were a god as benevolent as you're saying, why would I be like this, living in the streets!?" He stopped his rant only momentarily so he could turn and spit on the altar that Kagai had erected. "Your god can kiss my smelly ass!"

Number Seven and Okibi looked dumbstruck. They didnt even know where this man had come from, but he was certainly spouting the hate like no tomorrow. Slowly, Okibi withdrew her hand from Kagai's pocket and took a couple steps back. Seven got up and went to stand in front of her, just in case things got ugly. If there was one thing he knew about humans, it was that very few of them could take insults well.

 

[Hoshirei]

Kimi came upon the small group just as the bum spat upon the altar. She was without the girls tonight as they didn't really like these parts. Kimi quickly strode over to the bum and hissed at him, her eyes full of anger. She reached forward and grasped the man's shirt with her clawed fist.
"Just because you don't believe in a deity doesn't mean you can disrespect a shrine or others' beliefs! Now clean your disgusting sputum off of the stone and leave this place!"
The bum started laughing and reached up to grab Kimi's pony tail. He yanked on it and she hissed again. Her eyes shifted to a dark purplely blue and she growled darkly.
"Get off me, you bastard."
The man just smirked and brought his mouth close to her ear. "You first, kitty."
Kimi growled and her grip only got tighter. She was getting really close to letting her pent up rage go, and her "cubs" weren't there to hold her temper in check. They stayed there in stasis for a few moments before they simultaneously let go. The man smirked as he saw the young woman calming down.
"You're lucky I can keep my temper under control, disgraceful man. I should gut you for defacing this place."
"Like that's your job, bitch."
"That's tigress, you ass. It has been my family's duty for many years to care for shrines, no matter how recently erected."
"Tsk."
His final word, well sound, bristled Kimi a bit, but she finally remembered that there were other people there. Turning to them, she started to speak and then noticed the ginormous dog. She just looked at it for a few moments. Her eyes then traveled to the two humans. Both had red or reddish hair, but one had almost a lion's mane it was so wild.
"Uhm, hi." she stepped away from the man, she had finally smelled the man, and continued. "Eh, sorry about just striding in like that."
She noticed the bum trying to sneak off and she reached over and grabbed him by the collar. "Oh no you don't. You're going to answer to the shrine's creator." she said with a slightly evil, toothy grin. She could smell slight amounts of the man of the groups' scent coming off of the altar.

 

[Kagai]

It seemed that this Okibi girl was getting even more bold as Kagai could feel her going into one of his pockets. All she would find is his silver cigarette holder, a lighter, and possibly some loose change. He laughed a bit more. Her innocence and ignorance of normal human behavior was quite amusing. He, of course, would take no offense to this and let her continue to feed her curiosity.

A few moments later a drunken man would appear. The smell of cheap booze and filth was just pouring off of him, and the words he spoke were quite venomous to be sure. It was a common thing to see in these parts, especially when Kagai would preach about the word of Kojin. People whom were so fed up or so disgusted with their current state, that all that remained was their anger. Before Kagai could give him any sense of reassurance or perhaps offer him some food or a place to sleep off the alcohol, the man spat down upon his altar.

Witnessing this, the friendly look left Kagai's face. His yellow-orange eyes seemed to light up as he narrowed his gaze. Beads of sweat would begin to form upon his brow, and heat would begin to pour out from his body, possibly enough for Okibi, Seven and this new girl that showed up to feel. It seemed that she was reprimanding him for his insulting gesture towards his Altar. Without a word, Kagai would approach the man, whom was being held by the collar so that he couldn't scamper away like the rat he was...."A fire go before him, and burn up his enemies. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame." As he would say this, his eyes would close and his face would turn upwards. His arms would also raise up as the heat emanating from him began to increase..."For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many...." The palm of his right hand would then ignite with golden flames, and when his gaze was once again fixated upon the drunken man, within the blink of an eye Kagai brought his hand down upon the mans face, slapping him harshly.

Not only would the slap hurt, the imprint of his hand would be burned into the mans face. His screams of pain would be loud as he clutched his face. The burns left behind would appear to be at least second degree burns, and would leave a lasting scar in the shape of Kagai's hand upon his face..."You may let him go..." Kagai would say in a low tone of voice, slowly calming himself down again before he introduced himself to the newcomer

 

[Okibi]

Okibi and Seven were expecting... something to happen, but what did happen was not quite what they expected. The appearance of a girl with purple hair, and eyes like a cat, was sudden and the way she got angry with the street bum was just as unexpected. Okibi sniffed at the air in her direction, and picked up the scent of feline. An innate part of her wanted to start barking, but she held herself back from doing so. Now was not the time to give in to instinct!

As the bum was quickly put in his place by the new girl, and brought before Kagai for 'punishment', Okibi watched with rapt attention. Just what would the red haired man do? Seven had to admit that he was also interested in seeing just how things would play out.

They watched together as Kagai rose a hand into the air, engulfed it in flames, and then brought it down with a stinging smack against the crude mans cheek. At first, Okibi was disappointed. She watched as the dirty old man made haste in his getaway, tripping over debris and garbage.

"That all? Slap?" She said with sagging shoulders. The girl had always been in favor of action and that... was rather lacking.

However, the appearance of the fire jumped to the forefront of her mind, and she was quickly overtaken with a burning curiosity (haha pun!). With her eyes wide and inquisitive, she hopped over to Kagai side and looked up at him imploringly. "How do that? With fire." She asked, taking hold of the hand that he used to slap the hobo. She looked it over this way and that but saw no place where fire could have come out of. This wasnt the first time she had seen such techniques - Sousuke had done such tricks on more than one occassion - but it was the first time she was seeing someone without any sort of armor do it.

As Okibi peppered Kagai, Number Seven looked to the cat-like girl, smiling doggishly and nodding his head in greeting. "That was quite the spectacle miss."

 

[Hoshirei]

Kimi had a glum smirk on her face as she watched the man run off to where ever the heck he felt safest at the moment. She might be training to be a medic, but she did have a nasty side to her. The bum was just on the unfortunate side of her today. He would be marked with that for years. That fire laden slap had done quite a number to the man's face. She only hoped the man had learned his needed lesson.
She noted the girl's curious expression as she examined the man's hand. She herself had recently learned how to channel elemental chakra into different parts of her body. If she had smacked the bum like the man had, the bum's face would've had electrical burns and been twitching for hours. She would let the man take care of answering the other girl's question, especially since she heard another voice speak. As the only other person around was the giant doberman, she turned to him easily and smiled a toothy grin that showed off her "fangs".
"Yeah, I kinda half lied about my family taking care of all the shrines." she chuckled. "We're in charge of the cat centered ones. Of course, by my looks and smell you'd probably know that. Eh, Fido?"
She smiled playfully and gently sauntered over to the massive dog. Of course, she was used to massive things, she had twin tiger companions after all.
"Thanks for not barking at me, by the way. I know I smell like cats, well like a tiger more than a cat, but they're in the same genus." Kimi had to shake her head before she got all science-y on the poor canine. Suddenly she smelt something on the air and had to sniff the air noticeably to catch the scent completely. She growled slightly while looking in the direction of her home.
"Oh come on, I wasn't even gone that long! Did you two have to come looking for me?" Kimi said to something that was slinking in the shadows. The dog and possibly his human could smell the scent of the shadows, but she wasn't sure about the other man.
"Kora, Katsu, get your pretty white fluffy tiger butts out here. Did dad send you to come find me?"
"I told you we no can fool Kimi nose, Kora!" "Quiet, Katsu."
Kimi sighed and crossed her arms, one hand pinching the bridge of her nose. "You two, I swear if you don't get out here this minute, your training will be intensified for a week."
She'd been trying to teach them to use their chakra and how to use a minor healing jutsu. Normally she'd just have them practice for a few hours, but if they didn't get out here, it'd be more like five.
They sauntered out with small innocent smiles on their faces. When they saw the doberman the smile faded slightly as they tread lightly coming closer to him. They weren't sure about this big canine with the mechanical attachments and glowing red eyes.
"It's okay, you two." she turned back to the dog, her tigers now sitting on their haunches, flanking her, and continued. "They haven't met many canines. I think the only one they've met is just our vulpine friend CuRua. So, not actual dogs. Anyway, this is Kora and Katsu. And I'm Kimi. Nekozuka Kimi." she gestured to each of them in turn as she smiled at the great dog. "What's yours?"

 

[Kagai]

His rage had subsided when the man was out of view, and he had failed to notice until now that Okibi was prodding him for information on how he had summoned forth the flames that he used to slap the man into submission...."Well...Its kind of hard to explain really..." Kagai said, unsure how to explain how chakra worked to a savage child such as this. He wasn't sure if his words would help her out or confuse her even more...."I'll just say that Fire is inside of me, and I can use it how I want." He would say, trying to keep it as plain as possible. It was then that the purple haired one began to explain herself a bit, talking about having something to do with Cats. He assumed they were some off-shoot of the Inuzuka, seeing as this one had some rather Feline-ish features.

Then a couple rather large cats came out of the woodwork. Tigers, by the looks of it. White ones at that, which were exceptionally rare. Apparently they could speak as well, so he assumed it was some sort of off-shoot of the Inuzuka...."Seems everyone has big animals around here. I'd hate to have to feed them or clean up after them." He would think, laughing a bit as he reached into his vest pocket to reveal his cigarette holder. He would pluck one of the black cigarettes out and place it at the end of his lips, smirking a bit as he snapped his fingers to ignite a small flame on the end of his left thumb to light his smoke with, wondering if it'd amaze Okibi again like it had when he had smacked the drunken man...."You said you take care of the cat centered shrines within Sunagakure?" He would ask the young maiden...."Does that mean you and your kind worship Feline gods?" He would double down on his questions, tilting his head in curiosity while taking a long drag off of his black cigarette and allowing the blue-tinted smoke to flow out from his nose and mouth.

 

[Okibi]

The very uninformative information that Kagai gave to Okibi had the girl frowning, and she quickly dropped his hand. "Useless." She muttered as she stepped away from the unhelpful human. She could have gotten a better answer if she had asked Sousuke about human-type love. Which was not saying much!

' A fire inside, hm?' Okibi thought as she turned away from the growing group and looked at her hands. More and more in this village she was seeing people doing things she didnt know were possible. Humans were walking up the sides of buildings like it was nothing, zapping sandboxes with light, and slapping dirty men with fiery hands. If they could do it... why couldnt she? A determined expression came upon Okibi's face, and she squatted beside some trash a few feet away from the humans and Seven.

Number Seven left Okibi to her devices as he observed two large felines approach from out of the darkness. Tigers, he believed they were called. Indeed he had smelled their approach, but didnt think much of it. He had encountered his fair share of felines in the wilds of the country, and found that usually they would leave him and his human alone, so long as they werent disturbed. Perhaps these two would be no different. In fact, they seemed just a bit wary in his presence, which was something he was more used to than the very quick acceptance that came from the humans around him. He was beginning to wonder if the humans in this village were just desensitized to things like him.

Nodding in greeting, Seven smiled around his large teeth. "I go by Number Seven, though you can just call me Seven if you prefer." He turned to look at his girl momentarily. "The child there is Okibi." He turned to look back at the cat girl and her tigers, but did a double taken when he saw Okibi squatting by the garbage. His brow furrowed and he moved to step closer to her. "What are you doing?" He asked, knowing that Okibi would know he was talking to her.

Suddenly, Okibi jumped up and spun around, holding a wadded up piece of paper in her hands. Her wide grin was high lighted by a flickering golden light coming from a small flame that danced along the top of the piece of rubbish. "Okibi make fire!" She declared, waving her cupped hands around for the group to see. What she didnt realize, was that the small fire was quickly growing, consuming the piece of paper in her hands. Before she knew it, a sharp burning sensation was lancing through her palms painfully, and with a yelp she tossed the burning wad of paper. It bounced a few feet then landed back in the pile from whence Okibi had pulled it. In no time, the tiny flame had devoured the garbage around it and quickly turned into a roaring inferno. If something wasnt done soon, it was going to spread to the buildings around it!

"Okibi!" Seven barked. In one giant leap he was at her side, inspecting her hands as he ushered her away from the growing fire. "How did you do that? Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, snuffling around her face and arms, trying to comfort her. The girl simply whimpered as she held her hands close to her chest. They were red and blistered with burns that looked quite painful.

(I... kinda want that fire to take the building... let hoboville burn! Muahaha!)

 

[Hoshirei]

Kimi smiled at the dog as he told her his name. "It's nice to meet you, Seven. You and Okibi." Kagai then asked her about the shrines and her worship practices. She didn't really like talking about it, but he seemed kind enough.
"We don't really worship Feline gods. Some of us do, but not all of us. There's something in our clan's history that explains it a little bit, but I'm not completely sure."
She tried not to sneeze at the cigarette smoke, but her nose kept twitching. After a few moments of annoyance, a small breeze surrounded Kimi, whisking the smoke away from her sensitive nose. She looked down at Katsu and smiled. Her tigers had been working so hard on trying to use their small well of chakra. She was proud of her girls.
Kimi was broken out of her thoughts by Seven asking what Okibi was doing. She looked over at the feral girl who had set a piece of paper on fire. She heard the girl yelp as she threw the burning paper out of her hands. With little hesitation, she walked over to the other girl and reached out for her hands.
"Okibi, I can help. I'm a medic in training. I know how to heal your hands. Will you let me?"
While she was ignoring the garbage that had caught on fire, the two tigers were starting to pace and gruff heavily. They weren't sure what to do about the fire that was threatening to consume the broken down building beside it. They would try to put it out, but their chakra's affinity was wind and they didn't have much control over it yet.
"Fire not good." "Fire will eat building." They muttered back and forth before going to Kagai with whimpers of nervousness.

 

[Kagai]

His gaze shifted over towards the fire that was now beginning to grow thanks to Okibi. The cat girl Kimi's words satisfied him, she was not heathen at least, meaning that there was still time to save her soul should she allow him to do that. He became fixated upon the flames that began to spread, taking one last drag off from his cigarette before plucking it out from his mouth. Kimi's tigers seemed to cower over towards him because of the fire, saying that the fire would eat the buildings. Kagai didn't answer them outright, he simply fell down to his knees and clasped his hands around his still-burning cigarette, causing the burning embers at its tip to meet the flesh of both of his palms.

The burning from this would cause most people to wince or even yelp in pain, but Kagai was embracing it, almost enjoying it as a smile crept upon his face. His eyes seemed to take on an eerie glow, though it was tough to say whether it was caused from the reflection of light from the now large sized fire, or from some inner fire burning within his soul...."Lord Kojin has chosen to speak through Okibi...It is His will to see these buildings set a blaze...Perhaps as a way to purify it, or perhaps as punishment for the desecration of His altar...Either way, it is his will, and we dare not interfere lest we also invoke His wrath..." He would say as he closed his eyes, still feeling the burning sensation upon his palms from his cigarette.

Were there other people within these buildings? It was hard to say. They looked mostly abandoned or were dilapidated to the point where it'd be unsafe for people to live within them, but with this being the poor section of the village some of the people may have chosen to brave the possible dangers of living in such a building over sleeping out in the streets. Either way, Kagai did not seem in any hurry to dowse the flames or make any kind of attempt to warn any people living within these buildings as the fire began to build and increase in intensity.

 

[Okibi]

Okibi looked up through the fringe of her eyelashes when Kimi approached, offering her help. At first, Okibi wondered just how the female could help, and scrunched up her eyebrows in doubt. She held her hands a little closer to her chest as she questioned the woman. What medic in training is?" She asked. Seven pushed the girl closer to Kimi, and answered her question. "A medic is a person who is versed in the ways of healing. Like she said, she can heal your hands, now let her see them." He said, leaving no room for argument. Okibi whined softly as she slowly reached out to Kimi with her hands held palms upward.

As his human was being healed, Seven turned towards the building that was quickly being engulfed in flames. Kimi's tiger companions were cowering by Kagai, who seemed to be kneeling in worship to the fire. An odd sight indeed.

"Should we really do nothing about this?" He voiced as he walked over, confident that Okibi would be alright with Kimi. He looked up to the building, his face scrunching up as it was hit by the immense heat. "This could cause quite a bit of damage to the village if it spreads, could it not?" And if that were so... then would they not get in trouble for having started it? Seven's face fell, and if he were human, it probably would have drained of some color. It hadnt been that long since they were brought into the village. There wasnt anything stopping Sousuke from deciding that he and Okibi were more trouble then they were worth, if he found out about this.

Perhaps it would be best if they fled this situation...

With a quick turn, Number Seven marched back over to Okibi, whom was hopefully healed by now and picked her up with his head so she could slide down onto his back. "I think it's about time we headed home Okibi. It's getting late and I'm sure miss Chiyoko is wondering why we arent there for dinner." He turned to the two humans and the two tigers, smiling in a way that looked like it was quite uncomfortable. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you. Until next time!" He said with a nervous chuckle, and with that, bounded off. Okibi clung to his neck, confused, and could only lift one hand in a wave before they disappeared around a building.

Yes, it was lowly to leave the problem to people who didnt even cause it, but with Number Seven, nothing came before his human girl.

[Topic Left!]

(You guys can go ahead and conclude this however you want. The fire is yours to control!)

 

[Hoshirei]

It didn't take long to heal Okibi's hands to perfection. They would still be a little raw and touchy, but they were no longer blistering and wouldn't be uncomfortable. She heard Seven ask if they should do anything about the fire.
"I would, but I only know like two water jutsus and their kinda weak. I could possibly create a maelstrom with wind that could create a vacuum, but I'm not sure if it would work."
In the light of the fire, she thought she saw the dog's face more or less fall into a worried look. Shortly after, he corralled Okibi and guided her away from the area. She waved back to the girl before walking over to where her girls were still pacing a bit. She finally noticed Kagai almost worshiping the fire.
"I didn't smell anyone besides us around here. I don't believe that the building was occupied. Do you think we should try to control the blaze to this one building? There aren't any shrines that I know of in that direction. Not that there's much in terms of wind here, so the fire shouldn't really catch any other buildings."
Katsu and Kora whimpered slightly and nuzzled up against her sides. Kimi stroked their heads gently.
"Or perhaps we should just get out of here so that we don't get caught up if someone else comes."

 

[Kagai]

"If it is Kojin's will...He will stop the flames and spare the building." Kagai would say as he stood up after his mental prayer and brushed the dirt off from his knees...."This place is filthy...The fire will cleanse it and make it pure once more." He added, looking down towards the cat-ish girl and her tiger pets. "If your pets are not comfortable around the fire, perhaps we should get away from here. While it's true that there isn't a strong wind to spread the flames, there is a chance it could spark a gas line and ignite this entire neighborhood....In any case, we should definitely get out of here." His brain was in ANBU mode as he spoke. He knew that they'd probably be called in to police the situation if the fire got big enough and claimed enough houses.

It wouldn't be hard for them to figure out what caused the fire, but it would be difficult to figure out who. It'd most likely just end up as another cold case within a few weeks and be forgotten entirely within a month. And besides all that, this was the poor district where crime and violence was a bit more common place...and nobody really cared about the poor either. After a few more moments of gazing at the flames, Kagai would turn himself around and proceed to leave the area at a brisk pace, pulling out yet another cigarette and placing it upon his lips..."Farewell, Nekozuka Kimi. May Kojin bless you and keep you. Perhaps we will cross paths again at a later date if Kojin wills it!"

He then lit his cigarette and vanished from sight, leaving behind a cloud of blue tinted smoke in his wake. Hopefully the girl would be smart enough to flee with her tigers before the authorities arrived, whom Kagai would be reporting the fire to momentarily, as was his duty as an ANBU.

 

[Hoshirei]

Kimi nodded in agreement with Kagai. If it was a god or goddess's will, then the place would be consumed. Being next to Kimi helped Katsu and Kora helped them be calm but they almost started growling when he called them a pet. That discussion was for a different day.
"It is true that my companions are a little uncomfortable, though I think it's only because the fire is slowly burning out of control. And, as for the gas line-" Kimi paused and sniffed the air. She couldn't smell any hit of gas, but that didn't mean anything. She could smell metal heating up. That was never a good sign.
"If there is one near the house, I'd say we have less than a minute to get the hell out of here."
She watched as Kagai left and smiled.
"If a kami be willing, then we shall meet again."
She watched for a few more seconds before turning to her girls and silently telling them it was time to go home. With a burst of chakra in their total of ten "feet", they dashed off with little more than a small glance back at the burning fire where she met the worshiper of Kojin and a wild girl with her huge dog. She smiled and wondered if she'd see either of them again.